Frank Abagnale, Jr. is a fascinating character from 1960s American crime lore. Before reaching the age of 21 he forged checks and bilked million of dollars from banks. He posed as a Pan Am pilot, a surgeon in a Georgia hospital and even an attorney—to name but a few of his alleged professions. Eventually he was caught, and after serving a minimum sentence, he became a fraud consultant for the FBI. Steven Spielberg made a lighthearted and fun movie of his life, Catch Me If You Can, which focused on the taut relationship between Abagnale and Carl Hanratty, the FBI agent who pursued and eventually arrested him. Sound like the perfect recipe for a Broadway musical? It’s not. The production currently running at the Attic Community Theater ably demonstrates its shortcomings.Continue Reading

OCR: Why did you choose a cemetery to put on the play Romeo and Juliet?

BEAR: Actually, the location choose me. The Fairhaven Memorial Cemetery asked me to do Romeo and Juliet with a modern twist. So, they actually commissioned me because I’ve done a couple of shows for them in the past.Continue Reading

Ladies and gentlemen, she’s back. The girl with the curly red hair, the sandy-colored dog, the steadfast optimism and the voice of gold–Annie. Annie has returned to us, this time for one week over at Peppertree Park in Tustin. Her mission, to spread courage and good cheer while entertaining families in an outdoor setting late at night. Does she succeed? In spite of sound issues and rushed pacing, I would say its close enough.Continue Reading

With equal measures of pluck and positivity, little orphan Annie charms everyone’s hearts despite a next-to-nothing start in 1930s New York City. She is determined to find the parents who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of a New York City Orphanage that is run by the cruel, embittered Miss Hannigan. With the help of the other girls in the Orphanage, Annie escapes to the wondrous world of NYC. In adventure after fun-filled adventure, Annie foils Miss Hannigan’s evil machinations. She finds a new home and family in billionaire, Oliver Warbucks, his personal secretary, Grace Farrell, and a lovable mutt named Sandy. Taken from website.

Plays are a great medium for focusing on one subject. You’ve got a stage, actors, a few props and –potentially–maybe only a few scene changes. For the most part plays are very good at stripping away the excess of the exterior and uncovering the inter-workings of the people and ideas right in front of you. Theresa Rebeck’s play The Understudy (running now at The Modjeska Playhouse) is one of those plays. However it tries to walk a tight rope between comedy and drama, with jokes that fail to bring laughs and dramatic moments which lack weight. Continue Reading

Written by Daniella Litvak

Dinner With Friends is Donald Margulies’ play about two very different married couples —Karen/Gabe and Tom/Beth. These couples have been friends for a long time. They’ve vacationed together, raised kids together, and of course shared many dinners together. Karen and Gabe think all is well until one evening when Beth announces her and Tom’s marriage is over. Now the four of them must face the consequences this bombshell leaves in its wake.Continue Reading